Dungeon Siege II: Broken World - updated impressions

Clean up your mess in this fast-action add-on

Recently, the team behind Dungeon Siege II: Broken World, the bloody and brutal expansion to the action RPG slugfest, stormed into our offices to give us an updated look. These guys were very proud to claim that this expansion was done "for the fans" and feel that they've addressed every major complaint lodged against Dungeon Siege II.

The first thing that they wanted to show us was the incredible destruction that's been uncorked on the landscape. Broken World drags you back over familiar territory, now scorched and pockmarked with deep, impassable crags. It lives up to its rough looks;this is a high-level adventure for Dungeon Siege veterans. Your DSII characters need to be at least level 39 to be imported over to the expansion - they'll be torn to shreds otherwise. Fear not, however: if you didn't finish the original game, you can grab one of the pre-packaged characters and get rolling right away.

The two newly available multiclass characters make it easy to try out different styles while keeping the core abilities you love. If you tend to favor straight-up fighters, the Fists of Stone class blends face-smashing with the ability to cast powerful earth magic. Meanwhile, the Blood Assassin is a ranged attacker who wields potent elemental sorcery. Of course, all the original classes are present, and whichever you choose, Broken World makes it simple to change your mind later on, and swap ability points between skills without penalty.